Rodriguez - Coming From Reality

Back in 1971, Coming From Reality was Rodriguez's last gasp, the follow-up to Cold Fact and the final album he was allowed to record for the Sussex label. Unearthed, once again, by Light In The Attic records, it's another treat for fans new and old, designed - at the time - as Rodriguez's vision of a perfect pop album. The CD release includes deluxe booklet and 3 bonus tracks, recorded circa '72 w/ Mike Theodore & Dennis Coffey, and the LP features old-school tip on jackets, liner notes, and 180 gram vinyl, plus bonus 7" of the previously unreleased cuts Can't Get Away and Street Boy.

Press Release :
Sometimes, good things come to those who wait. When Sixto Rodriguez recorded his debut album 'Cold Fact' in 1969, he dreamed of pop stardom. But, far from the epicentre of the late '60s folk scene, the Detroit-based son of Mexican immigrants found that his defining statement was criminally overlooked.

Rodriguez went back to reality, working as a labourer, a petrol station attendant, studying philosophy, campaigning for local government and sticking to his principals. But over time, 'Cold Fact' was rediscovered in the strangest places. With the advent of the internet, Rodriguez learned he had become a cult figure in South Africa, where 'Cold Fact' had become a beacon of counter-cultural pop for legions of fans who presumed its creator dead. Later, DJ David Holmes revived Cold Fact's extra-terrestrially wonderful lead track 'Sugar Man' for his Free Association project. And then, in 2008, Light In The Attic finally gave 'Cold Fact' the treatment it deserved: a full reissue with proper liner notes, lovingly restored audio and its trippy cover art restored to its former glory.

The response was phenomenal. The reviews incredible and the album made the end-of-year lists in Spin, Rolling Stone, Uncut, Observer Music Monthly and Mojo. Rodriguez took to the stage too, and finally got a chance to perform his classic songs in Los Angeles and San Francisco, backed by a ten-piece band with horns and all. Cold Fact producer Mike Theodore noted that the Rodriguez of the '60s and '70s would only play at "hooker bars, inner city dives, and biker bars."

Back in 1971, 'Coming From Reality' was Rodriguez's last gasp, the follow-up to 'Cold Fact' and the final album he was allowed to record for the Sussex label. Unearthed, once again, by Light In The Attic records, it's another treat for fans new and old, designed - at the time - as Rodriguez's vision of a perfect pop album.

'Coming From Reality' found Rodriguez decamping from Detroit to London's Lansdowne Studios, where the album was recorded with some of the UK's top talent including Chris Spedding (Paul McCartney, Sex Pistols, Dusty Springfield, Harry Nilsson) and producer Steve Rowland (The Pretty Things, PJ Proby and the man who discovered The Cure), who recalls 'Coming From Reality' as his favourite ever recording project

"We recorded the album within a month, intensely working each and every day," says Rodriguez, who still lives in Detroit. "We pushed all the recordings to a shortened time, so we would have a sec to visit Europe while we were over there. After the sessions, we travelled to Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels. We wanted to see as much as we could. It really was such a sweet time."

Highlights include the super-poppy 'To Whom It May Concern', the Rocky Raccoon-inspired 'A Most Disgusting Song' and period piece 'Heikki's Suburbia Bus Tour'. "Heikki was a Detroit guy with long blond hair, slighted for being a hippie," explains Rodriguez. "We decided to rent a bus, fill it with booze, hippies and mason kinda beards, and drive around Detroit. It was a bit of a party."

The reissue also includes three previously unreleased bonus tracks recorded in Detroit in 1972 with 'Cold Fact' collaborators Mike Theodore & Dennis Coffey, representing the last thing they ever did together.

Meanwhile, the Rodriguez story keeps gathering pace. A Swedish documentary company are working on a feature length documentary about the enigmatic performer's life and music, and Rodriguez is planning to bring his live show to the UK and Europe for the first time in Summer 2009.

"It's an extraordinary trip," says Rodriguez of his new lease of life. "It feels like Picasso, Monet. All these exciting new thoughts coming at me. It's global. I'm lucky to have this second chance. It's very real and totally unexpected. And it's very real."

Djouls

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